Marko not worried about Norris: 'In terms of race pace, we are ahead of McLaren'

Max Verstappen will once again start from P1 during tomorrow's race in Austria. His first run in Q3 proved enough for first place. Still, it was anything but a sure thing.

Helmut Marko saw this too. In an interview with ORF he says it was pretty exciting. Especially Q3 did not turn out to be so smooth for the Dutchman. "The lead was a bit tight. Max was annoyed that he went out first, it was not an ideal lap." Still, despite a not so ideal Q3, the Dutchman captured pole position and will once again start from first place tomorrow.

Because that's what it's all about now of course. Mercedes surprisingly start from P4 and P5. Lando Norris and Sergio Perez are still ahead of the two Mercedes men. Marko especially hopes that Norris will not be able to keep up with Verstappen for too long. "We know Norris is fast in qualifying and a good starter. Hopefully, he won't mix too much between our cars. But based on race pace I already assume we are way ahead of McLaren."

In that respect, the Austrian is hoping for a repeat of last weekend. Marko concluded by saying that he thinks Verstappen could have gone two tenths faster. Despite that, the Dutchman will start on pole and Marko and co will hope to extend the lead on Sunday.